It appears to me sometimes that there are two Lord Tredegars.... Most of you have been children at some time or other, and so most of you, I am happy to think, are acquainted with nursery rhymes. There is one which, probably, a great many of you have heard of. It is about an old lady with a basket who was going to market. She laid down on a bank and went to sleep, and a pedlar passing by, for some reason or other, cut her petticoats considerably above her knees. When she awoke the first thing she said was, "Surely, this is not I." And sometimes, when he awoke in the morning, and saw what was said about Lord Tredegar, he was inclined to make the same remark, "Surely, this is not I." When I read of a Lord Tredegar who is trying to reap what he has not sown, who binds his tenants down to covenants which do not exist, and who exacts the uttermost farthing from his miserable tenants, I think sometimes there must be two Lord Tredegars. _Tredegar Show, November 24th, 1888._ [Illustration: "_Surely, this is not I!_"] THE TRIALS OF BENEFACTORS. [Illustration: "_I have lately started a store in the village._"] The other day a friend of mine was in much the same position as I am to-night. He owned a large estate in the neighbourhood, and he was asked to preside at a meeting of the candidate who was going to come forward. I asked him afterwards if the meeting was successful. "Oh, yes," he replied, "it was fairly successful, but they began to find out my failures and shortcomings." I said, "What have they found out about you?" The reply was, "I have lately started a store in the village, so that the agricultural labourers might have their beef and groceries at cost price. I thought that was rather a good thing to do, but it was far from a good thing in the opinion of my opponents. All the butchers and grocers declared they would make it very hot for me." I am in a somewhat similar position, and I told my friend so. "What have you done?" asked my friend, and I replied, "I have given a public park to the Newport people." "What has that to do with it?" "Well," said I, "they make out that it has increased the rates." _Conservative Meeting, Newport, February 2nd, 1894._ WHAT IS A PHILANTHROPIST?